Events in History
- Jan 6 Patent for reducing zinc ore granted to Samuel Wetherill, Penn
- Jan 8 Dion Boucicauly's "Poor of NY" premieres in NYC
- Jan 9 7.9 earthquake shakes Fort Tejon, California
- Jan 15 1st first-class game in Sydney, NSW v Vic at The Domain
- Jan 24 University of Calcutta founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia
- Jan 26 Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville delivers his design for a phonautograph, which created visual images of sound, to the French Academy
- Feb 16 Gallaudet College (National Deaf Mute college) forms in Washington, D.C.
Event of Interest
Feb 18 Chinese residents in the fledging state of Sarawak rebel against the "White Rajah" James Brooke
James Brooke
Event of Interest
Mar 6 Dred Scott Decision: US Supreme Court rules Africans cannot be US citizens
Dred Scott
- Mar 8 British seismologist John Milne is hired by the Japanese government as a foreign adviser (oyatoi gaikokujin)
Event of Interest
Mar 23 Elisha Otis installs his 1st elevator at 488 Broadway in New York City
Elisha Otis
Historic Publication
Apr 1 Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man.
Herman Melville
- Apr 12 Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" published
- Apr 21 Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
- Apr 27 Establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria prohibited
- Apr 29 US Army, Pacific Div HQ permanently forms at Presidio (San Francisco)
- Apr 30 San Jose State University forms
- May 1 William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy
The Indian Mutiny
May 10 Indian Mutiny against rule by the British East India Company begins with the revolt of the Sepoy soldiers in Meerut
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- May 19 Americans William Francis Channing and Moses G Farmer patent the electric fire alarm
- May 26 US slave Dred Scott and family freed by owner Henry Taylor Blow 3 months after US courts ruled against them.
- Jun 1 Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) is published.
- Jun 2 James Gibbs of Virginia, patents the chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine
- Jun 5 Walter Woodbury and James Page open photo studio in Batavia (Jakarta)
- Jun 10 Britain passes an act putting Canada on the decimal currency system
- Jun 15 San Francisco Water Works organized
- Jun 27 Bibighar massacre of 120 British women and children following the siege of Cawnpore
Event of Interest
Jun 27 James Donnelly becomes engaged in a drunken brawl with Patrick Farrell, who suffers a fatal blow to the head. Farrell dies two days later, which makes James Donnelly a wanted man and draws the Donnelly family into the notorious feud
James Donnelly
- Jun 29 Battle at Chinhat (Indies rebel under Barkat Ahmed beat British)
- Jul 16 Sir Henry Havelock arrives at Battle of Cawnpore
- Jul 18 Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French
- Aug 24 The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history.
- Sep 11 Mountain Meadows Massacre, Mormons dressed as Indians murder 120 colonists in Utah
- Sep 12 423 die when "Central America" sinks off Cape Romain SC
- Sep 15 Timothy Alder of NY patents a typesetting machine
- Sep 16 Mexican constitution of force (fiercely attacked by Pope Pius IX)
- Sep 23 Russian warship Leffort disappears in a storm in the Gulf of Finland; 826 die
- Sep 25 Relief of Lucknow by Havelock & Outram begins
- Sep 30 US occupies Sand, Baker, Howland & Jarvis Is south of Hawaii
- Oct 5 The City of Anaheim is founded
- Oct 6 American Chess Association organized; 1st major US chess tournament (NYC)
- Oct 10 American Chess Association formed (NYC)
- Nov 9 Atlantic Monthly magazine 1st published
- Dec 8 1st production of Dion Boucicault's "Poor of New York"
- Dec 16 Earthquake in Naples, Italy
- Dec 31 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada
Birthdays in History
- Jan 2 Frederick Opper, cartoonist (Maud, Alphonse & Gaston)
- Jan 2 Martha Carey Thomas, American educator, suffragist, linguist and second President of Bryn Mawr College, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1935)
- Jan 6 Hugh Mahon, Irish-born Australian politician (d. 1931)
- Jan 6 William E. Russell, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- Jan 9 Henry B Fuller, American writer (Under the Skylights)
- Jan 14 Alice Pike Barney, American painter, born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1931)
- Jan 17 Eugene Augustin Lauste, developer (1st sound-on-film recording)
- Jan 18 Otto von Below, German commandant (WWI)
- Jan 23 Andrija Mohorovicic, Croatian geologist (Moho discontinuity)
- Jan 26 Trinley Gyatso, 12th Dalai Lama, born in Tibet (d. 1875)
- Jan 31 George Jackson Churchward, Great Western Railway Chief mechanical engineer. (d. 1933)
- Feb 2 Jan Six, Dutch art historian/art collector
- Feb 3 Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen, Copenhagen, Danish Botanist and Geneticist who provided evidence for Hugo de Vries' mutation theory
- Feb 9 Johannes T de Visser, theologist/Dutch 1st minister of Education
- Feb 17 Samuel Sidney McClure, Irish-American newspaper editor/publisher
- Feb 18 Max Klinger, German graphic artist/painter/sculptor
- Feb 21 Jules de Trooz, baron/premier of Belgium (1907)
- Feb 22 Heinrich Hertz, physicist, 1st to broadcast & receive radio waves
Robert Baden-Powell
Feb 22 Robert Baden-Powell, British officer and founder of the modern scouting movement, born in Paddington, London (d. 1941)
Robert Baden-Powell
- Feb 26 Emile Coué, French pharmacist (recovery by auto suggestion)
- Mar 7 Julius Wagner von Jauregg, Austrian psychiatrist (Nobel 1927)
- Mar 16 Charles Harding Firth, British historian (d. 1936)
- Mar 22 Arnold Sauwen, Flemish poet (Along the Meuse)
- Mar 22 Paul Doumer, gov-genl of Indo-China/13th President of France (1931-32)
- Mar 23 Fannie Farmer, American culinary figure, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Mar 27 Karl Pearson, British statistician (leading founder of the modern field of statistics), born in London (d. 1936)
- Mar 30 Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (d. 1926)
- Apr 5 Alexander-Jozef von Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (1879-86), born in Verona, Lombardy–Venetia (d. 1893)
- Apr 10 Henry Ernest Dudeney, English mathematician and puzzle maker, born in Mayfield, East Sussex, England (d. 1930)
- Apr 14 Victor Horsley, English physician and neuroscientist, born in London (d. 1916)
- Apr 18 Clarence S Darrow, defense attorney at Scopes monkey trial
- Apr 19 Lucien Levy-Bruhl, philosopher
- Apr 20 Charles Louis Philippe Zilcken, Dutch painter and author (HW Knife Day), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1930)
- Apr 20 Hermann Bang, Danish writer, born in Asserballe, Denmark (d. 1912)
- Apr 29 Edouard Rod, France/Swiss writer (Mishel' Tes'e)
- Apr 30 Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
- May 7 William A. MacCorkle, American politician, 90th Governor of West Virginia, born in Lexington, Virginia (d. 1930)
- May 10 Hendrik Zwaardemaker, Dutch physiologist (olfactometer)
- May 13 Ronald Ross, British pathologist (Nobel Prize 1902), born in Almora, North-Western Provinces, British India (d. 1932)
- May 15 Williamina Fleming, Scottish-born astronomer (d. 1911)
- May 19 John Jacob Abel, American Pharmacologist (endocrine glands), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- May 31 Pius XI, [Ambrogio DA Ratti], Italian 259th Pope (1922-39)
- Jun 2 Karl Adolph Gjellerup, poet (Poutnici Svetem, Nobel 1917), born in Roholte, Denmark (d. 1919)
- Jun 6 Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian mathematician (d. 1918)
- Jun 18 Henry Clay Folger Jr, American businessman/Shakespeare fan
- Jul 5 Clara Zetkin, German women's rights advocate/communist
- Jul 9 Frederik II W, grandduke of Baden (1907-18)
- Jul 11 Alfred Binet, French child psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test (Binet–Simon test), born in Nice, France (d. 1911)
- Jul 14 Maytag, inventor (washing machine)
- Jul 21 A S C Wallis, [Adele SC von Antal-Opzoomer], Dutch writer
- Jul 23 French [M J Francois] Erens, lawyer/literary (Pursue Years)
- Jul 24 Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer (Promised Country, Nobel 1917), born in Fredericia, Denmark (d. 1943)
- Jul 25 Frank Sprague, Milford Connecticut, American Inventor who installed the first U.S. electric trolley system in Richmond, Virgina
- Jul 27 Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, orientalist/museum curator
- Jul 27 Jose Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rico, found Federalist Party in 1900
- Jul 28 Ballington Booth, Brighouse, England, Officer in The Salvation Army and co-founder of Volunteers of America
- Jul 30 Thorstein Veblen, American economist (Theory of the Leisure Class-1899)
- Aug 8 Henry Osborn, Conn, paleontologist/author (52 Years of Research)
- Aug 15 Albert Ballin, German inventor and shipping tycoon, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1918)
- Aug 18 Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian Catholic prelate and the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1926)
- Sep 6 Zelia Nuttall, American archeologist and historian, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1933)
- Sep 8 Georg Michaelis, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1936)
- Sep 8 Ida Henrietta Hyde, Davenport Iowa, American physiologist who invented the micro-electrode. She was the first woman allowed to do research at Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiology Society.
- Sep 10 James E Keeler, US astronomer (rings of Saturn)
- Sep 12 George H. Breitner, Dutch impressionist painter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1923)
Milton S. Hershey
Sep 13 Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate tycoon (The Hershey Chocolate Company) and philanthropist, born in Derry Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1945)
Milton S. Hershey
- Sep 13 Michał Drzymała, Polish peasant rebel (d. 1937)
William Howard Taft
Sep 15 William Howard Taft, 27th US President (Republican: 1909-13) and Chief Justice, born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1930)
William Howard Taft
- Sep 17 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian pioneer in rocket & space research, born in Izhevskoye, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1935)
- Sep 29 Conrad T van Deventer, lawyer/2nd-Member of parliament
- Sep 30 Hermann Sudermann, German writer (Honor, That Ehre, Frau Sorge)
- Oct 2 Marthinus T Steyn, President of Orange-Free state (1896-1902)
- Oct 14 Elwood Haynes, auto pioneer, built one of 1st US autos
- Oct 29 Conrad Haebler, German historian (Early printers of Spain/Portugal)
- Oct 30 John H Aberson, 1st chancellor (Dutch Agricultural University)
- Oct 30 Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist and namesake of Tourette's syndrome, born in Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers, France (d. 1904)
- Nov 2 Joseph Babinski, Polish-French neurologist (Babinski reflex), born in Paris (d. 1932)
- Nov 3 Michail V Alekseyev, Imperial Russian general and WW I Chief of Staff (d. 1918)
- Nov 5 Ida Tarbell, muckraker (Standard Oil was very unhappy)
- Nov 21 Manuel Estrada Cabrera, 13th President of Guatemala (1898-1920), born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (d. 1924)
- Nov 22 George Gissing, English author (Thyrza, Crown of Life)
- Nov 22 George Gissing, British novelist (New Grub Street, Charles Dickens: A Critical Study), born in Wakefield, England (d. 1903)
- Nov 26 Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist (d. 1913)
- Nov 27 Charles Scott Sherrington, British physiologist, Nobel laureate (Neurophysiology), born in London, England (d. 1952)
- Nov 28 Alfonso XII, king of Spain (1874-85)
- Nov 29 Theodor Escherich, German pediatrician (d. 1911)
Joseph Conrad
Dec 3 Joseph Conrad, Polish novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924)
Joseph Conrad
- Dec 16 E. E. [Edward Emerson] Barnard, American astronomer (Jupiter's 5th satellite), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1923)
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
Jan 10 Novelist Jules Verne (28) weds Honorine de Viane Morel
Jules Verne
- Jun 6 Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway
Wedding of Interest
Jul 16 Confederate general Thomas Jackson (33) weds Mary Anna Morrison in Lincoln County
Stonewall Jackson
Wedding of Interest
Jul 27 Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I (25) weds princess Charlotte of Belgium (17) in Brussels
Maximilian I
Wedding of Interest
Dec 30 Confederate army cavalry battalion commander John S. Mosby (24) weds Pauline Clarke in Nashville
John Singleton Mosby
Deaths in History
- Jan 27 Dorothea von Benckendorff, Baltic monarch of Lieven, dies at 72
- Feb 7 Félix de Merode, Earl of Merode, Belgian minister of War, dies at 65
- Feb 9 Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet of the Greek national anthem (b. 1798)
- Feb 10 David Thompson, Canadian explorer (b. 1770)
- Feb 16 Auguste-Gaspard-Louis Desnoyers, French engraver, dies at 77
- Feb 16 Elisha Kent Kane, Arctic explorer (Kane Basin), dies at 37
- Feb 28 André Dumont, Belgian geologist, dies at 48
- Mar 11 Manuel Jose Quintana, Spanish author and poet (A la paz), dies at 84
- Mar 21 Abraham J van der Aa, lexicographer (Biograph dictionary), dies at 64
- Mar 26 Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and geographer of Qing Dynasty, dies at 62
- Apr 8 Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (b. 1827)
- Apr 30 Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, dies at 81
- May 2 LC Alfred the Musset, French poet (Lesson caprices Marianne), dies
- May 11 E Francois Vidocq, French criminalogist/police officer, dies at 81
- May 23 Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and physicist, dies at 67
- Jun 8 Douglas William Jerrold, British playwright and satirist (b. 1803)
- Jun 19 Alexander Twilight, American politician and minister, first African American to graduate and hold political office, dies at 61
- Jun 30 Alcide d'Orbigny, French naturalist, dies at 54
- Jul 2 Carlo Pisacane, Italian patriot (b. 1818)
- Jul 4 William L. Marcy, American statesman (b. 1786)
- Jul 16 Pierre-Jean de Baranger, poet, dies
- Jul 19 Stefano Franscini, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1796)
- Jul 29 Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French prince of Canino and Musignano, dies at 54
- Jul 29 Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer (b. 1774)
- Aug 1 Charles Turner, engraver, dies
- Aug 3 Eugène Sue, French novelist (b. 1804)
- Aug 10 John Wilson Croker, politician
- Aug 12 William Daniel Conybeare, geologist, dies
- Aug 27 Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American poet, literary critic and editor, dies of tuberculosis at 42
- Sep 3 M Heinrich C Lichtenstein, German zoologist/explorer, dies at 77
- Sep 3 John McLoughlin, Canadian trapper (b. 1784)
- Sep 5 Auguste Comte, French sociologist (b. 1798)
- Oct 28 Louis Eugène Cavaignac, French soldier and politician (b. 1802)
- Nov 24 Henry Havelock, British soldier (War in Afghanistan 1838-39), dies at 62
- Nov 26 Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German poet (That Freier), dies at 69
- Dec 3 Christian D Rauch, German sculptor, dies at 80